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1 Jun 2017
Report

Teaching and Learning Materials in Tajikistan: How Do They Align With Reading Research?

Pooja Reddy Nakamura and Rebecca Stone

Tajik teacher at chalkboardThe Quality Reading Project (QRP) works to improve reading skills among primary-grade students in Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic through four main activities: (1) in-service teacher training; (2) increased availability of reading materials; (3) community support; and (4) government support. QRP covers 60% of the primary schools in each country.

This report describes a study that reviewed Tajikistan’s teaching and learning materials (TLM) for Grades 1–4. In Tajikistan, the Mother Tongue competencies are one of the core components of the TLM as they lay out what a child is expected to learn. These competencies in turn determine various other aspects of TLMs, such as curriculum, teacher training guides, and assessments. Therefore it is important that the competencies are reflective of the cognitive foundations of how children learn in general, and how they learn to read in Tajik in particular.

Key Findings

Major strides have been made to strengthen the Tajikistan Mother Tongue standards that are better aligned with research in key ways, namely:

  • A clearer match with reading research, in that there is a general, increasing complexity of reading skills through the grades and explicit mention of the five Big Skills
  • A focus on comprehension skills that are in line with the transparent orthography
  • Incorporation of significantly more general evidence-based pedagogical practices for how children learn best (in general, not reading specific), such as child-centered pedagogies, and this was apparent in the classroom as well
  • Several teaching methods and practices outlined in the Mother Tongue competency guides
  • A positive attitude toward the new competencies across all levels of education stakeholders

Next Steps

Key areas still exist where the implementation of these standards may fall short in producing the intended results. Primary among these is that a gap exists between the new competencies and all other TLM, including the textbook and assessment protocols (both summative and formative). Second, issues still remain in the confounding of certain variables (“fluency” and “comprehension” for instance). And, finally, the use of these competencies is only as good the training and continuous support teachers and educators receive on how to implement them.

PDF icon Teaching and Learning Materials in Tajikistan: How Do They Align With Reading Research? (PDF)

Related Projects

students laughing.jpg

Student laughing
Project

Quality Reading Project – Tajikistan & Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are bringing about a paradigm shift in what it means to be a reader, and in how education systems must be restructured to support children’s acquisition of comprehension and critical reading skills. AIR is providing the Ministry of Education in each country with a set of measurable, uniform goals that define what is expected of students, teachers, school directors, district and regional education officials, and teacher mentors.

Related Work

6 Jul 2016
In the Field

silent reading 2 boy.jpg

Tajik boy reading

Stories from the Field: One Teacher's Experiences in Tajikistan

Through AIR's work with the USAID's Quality Reading Project in Tajikistan, local fourth-grade teacher Guljahon Rahmonova received specialized in-service training. Read about her experiences in her own words.
Topic: 
Education, Reading and Literacy, International, International Education, International Reading and Literacy
1 Jan 2015
Service

Reading: Global Focus on Science and Solutions

There has been a significant increase in school enrollment globally, yet millions of children across the world are unable to read a single word even after up to four years of schooling. AIR is focused on improving the quality of learning outcomes by enhancing the science of reading, while developing solutions for the global learning crisis.
Topic: 
Reading and Literacy, Teacher Preparation and Performance, International, International Education, International Reading and Literacy

Further Reading

  • Reading: Global Focus on Science and Solutions
  • Literacy Around the World
  • Vamos Ler! (Let's Read!) Mozambique
  • Language and the Global Learning Crisis: How Best to Teach Multilingual Children
  • Language in Learning and Literacy: Native Tongues First
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Pooja Reddy Nakamura

Principal Researcher

Rebecca Stone

Principal Researcher

Topic

Reading and Literacy
International
International Education
International Reading and Literacy

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